Left Behind Memories
by kataang0508
Summary: Aang used to only know himself as just a simple Air Nomad. When he turned twelve the monks told him, he was the Avatar. But that only is a part of who Aang truly is. Being separated from his parents at a young age, Aange never truly knew his life. Who were his parents? His friends? Discover the life of Avatar Aang before the iceberg.
1. Chapter 1: The Cycle Continues

**Left Behind Memories**

**Chapter 1: The Cycle Continues**

**I DO NOT OWN ATLA :)**

_**Author's Note: This story does not follow the Avatar plot line and character relations as per the show. Some of the relationships are mutated. Yes, Sozin's comet will still happen. Yes, Aang will still be frozen in an iceberg. I would never change something that drastic. The main thing here is character relationships. You'll have to read to find out what changed. **_

_**Summary: After Avatar Roku's death, Meili, a woman of the Western Air Temple and her husband, Gyatso of the Southern Air Temple, go into labor. Beginning their journey to parenthood. **_

* * *

_Water, Earth, Fire, Air... Monk Itashi once told me of he and Gyatso's crazy excursions around the globe with Avatar Roku. The Fire Nation Avatar whom was once best friends with Firelord Sozin. But everything changed when Firelord Sozin attempted to spread war and colonize the other nations. Only the Avatar stood in his way, yet not for long, for he would no longer be a problem to Firelord Sozin as he would die battling a volcano. The world was devastated by the death of their beloved Avatar. But as they mourned, they casted their sorrow away, and began their search for the next Avatar. _

Screams of labor and love infiltrated the usually calm and stoic temple. Their vibrations echoing off of the hollow stone pillars, easily gliding down the empty breeze way, and casting over the rising sun, dawning upon the horizon.

It was the most solemn time of day at the Southern Air Temple. The most serious of times where sky bison didn't fly over head, lemurs didn't chatter, and children didn't play. The early morning meditation ritual was sacred, and had been a custom amongst the Air Nomads since the dawn of their existence. To the nomads, it was believed that mediating would help in starting a new day without tension and regret. That it could help wash away all your worries and emotions, and keep your chakras running swift and free, like a river gliding over various hills. Likewise, the nightly meditation ritual was referred to as the technique in getting rid of nightmares. They worked too, if performed correctly.

A gentle breeze flew into an open window of one of the many rooms in the Sister Abbey at the Southern Air Temple. Its cooling, comforting touch, though welcomed, did very little to comfort the woman who was currently delivering her child into the world, nor the older monk standing beside her, lending his hand as a cushion to grip on.

"You don't regret being her with me, do you?" Meili inquired as the last contraction ceased. Exhausted, she collapsed onto the mounds of pillows behind her. Her stormy gray eyes closed, with beads of sweat grazing the sides. Her skin was pale and her breathing deep. "You can go if you aren't comfortable, my love. I wouldn't hold it against you."

Ordinarily, men were not permitted in the birthing rooms at the Abbey. For one, they usually couldn't handle the stress and wring wrang of emotions that were disturbed throughout the room, for the Air Nomads were a peaceful culture, and anything but was an upset. It was also unsettling to see someone in that great amount of pain. Men had the tendency to make the situations worse than they really were. It was only with Gyatso's position on the council did he acquire such access to the birthing room in the Abbey.

Truthfully, seeing his beloved wife of thirty years in such intense and gruesome pain did sicken Gyatso. Meili was experiencing a great deal of pain. Pain he knew he would never dare to dream or experience. He was disgusted with himself. He had inflicted the worst pain imaginable onto the person he loved most, and there wasn't a thing he could do to relieve her from it.

Of course they both had known the consequences of their actions on that snowy night nine months earlier. They knew the precautions that needed to be taken, and took them in full. But even with their extensive measures in contraceptives with the exception of total abstinence, Meili still managed to get pregnant. It threw both nomads through a surprising loop, especially since they had both thought for a long while that Meili's child bearing years had long since passed. After all, Meili had just recently turned fifty years old and Gyatso sixty five. Children had never been a subject when it came to their marriage.

Their love for one another had begun some thirty years ago, when Gyatso had made a council trip to the Western Air Temple to convene with the sisters about the annual courtship ritual. It was approaching soon with the Winter Solstice only two months away. On that fateful day, new and true young love would begin to blossom, nothing could hold it back. And for this solstice it was Gyatso's regulation from the Abbott to oversee this year's celebration.

The solstice courtship ritual was of nerves, love, friendship, and precision. Everything had to go according to plan and traveling was no exception. If the young nomads did not make it to the opposite temple in which they were seeking love in the opposite sex by the solstice, hope would be lost in gathering blessings from the Air spirits which lurked on temple grounds on those two extraordinary days.

Since primarily the northern and southern temples were dominated by males, the eastern and western by females, it was decided long ago that on the solstice, one of the temples from each gender would travel to the other for the courtship ritual. Newly tattooed members from both sexes would receive the opportunity to court, marry, or impregnate a mate at this time. It was proven long ago to be successful, and population was always up by the next coming solstice, but not all marriages lasted.

Usually courting was prompted by the parents of the individual that wanted their son or daughter to fall in love much like they, themselves had. They did not want their child to make a stupid mistake which could cause their heart and spirit to be shattered. It was also proven the most effective technique for a long and happy marriage. In no circumstances, however, were the parents to arrange a marriage without their child's consent. It was prohibited amongst the Air Nomad culture. Spirits guide free from the body inhabiting them, fate eventually catches up with that spirit, and guides them to their destiny. A spirit not free was considered in peril.

If a couple chose to marry during the ritual, they could choose whether or not they wanted their partner to truly become a part of themselves through a process called "Spiritual Connection". The process could only take place, however, if the Air spirits approved of such matters. If they did not, then the ceremony was cancelled. Because of this, the Abbott usually observed and counseled the couple in order to make sure their love was true and unbiased. Despite "Spiritual Connection", many marriages did end in separation, but usually it was mutual decision.

It was not that the couple was not in love. That was rarely the case. In fact, some of the couples were so truly much in love that they needed to separate so they could find themselves - their spirit again. The husband and wife became so consumed into their partner that they felt like they had not even an identity any longer. Almost like they couldn't breathe the air that surrounded them.

Sometimes on the Solstice, two youngsters would even have a child together to try and prove their worth to one another, then give it away to the orphanage for a monk or sister to mentor and raise. To the world, it was absurd and reckless behavior, but to the Air Nomads, it was life. It was a way for one's spirit to not be burdened, and to still contribute to society.

It was amongst this archaic trip that Gyatso met Meili, a maternal nurturer at the abbey. She had been the one to guide him around the temple. She had given him the number of newly tattooed female masters and the number of rooms available. Over the course of his trip, Meili and Gyatso had bonded so well, that they became each other's best friend. Someone he could confide into. Their perspectives were the same, their principles, and philosophy on life in general. There was not a thing they had disagreed on. They fell fast for one another, and all too hard.

When Gyatso's departure came, Meili had begged him to stay another day. It was only when Gyatso had declined her tempting invitation, that Meili left him with a lustrous kiss as a parting gift and new grounds to return. That kiss was Gyatso's first, and was what made him revisit and search for Meili on the day of the Winter Solstice.

Later that week, they had been spiritually connected. A few days process in which the man's and woman's hands were tied together by wicker rope in order to prepare them for the ceremony that would link them together for eternity. Then, on the day of marriage the rope was replaced with orange silk, tied around the man's left wrist and the woman's right and placed over their hearts in order to bond their spirits eternally. It was a very sacred ceremony, one that many nomads chose to not take part in.

The couple had been together ever since, and forever in love. Shortly after their marriage, they had decided to remain at the Southern Air Temple, and to only mentor classes, never to raise any children of their own. Grant it for selfish reasons, but they wanted to be in love for as long as possible. They wanted their spirits to only be burdened by one other individual, not by two.

Unfortunately, their luck had not at all kept up with them. Following Avatar Roku's last, urgent visit to the temple about Sozin's extreme plans in forging war against the other nations, Meili had confided to Gyatso of their latest adventure; her pregnancy. At first, the old monk had been dismayed at the prospect and stand offish, not wanting to raise the child of his own and simply place him in the nursery at the abbey, which was a common occurrence amongst their people. But as the months went on, he found that the pregnancy had brought he and Meili closer together, despite the terrible rift of morning sickness she had endured. He discovered that he liked the idea of becoming a father, a chance his birth father did not receive.

Meili had suffered throughout her pregnancy. During the nine months, she continually experienced morning, afternoon, and night sickness. Her back always ached and her muscles constantly cramped. Her emotions would be from one drastic to the next by the time she finished a sentence, if not before then. If truth be told, the pregnancy had put her marriage on trial, considering most of her targets were at her husband for causing her to become in the state she was in. Pregnancy at the age of fifty was hard on the body, and Meili had not expected that at all. Afterwards, when her rage subsided, she would often breakdown in Gyatso's arms and confess an apology because she knew it was her fault just as much as it was his. It takes two people to make a baby. Both people are at fault. Meili of all people would have known that.

"I wouldn't rather be anyplace else in the world. The birth of our child is an important matter, Meili. Why wouldn't I be here?" He snickered as he smoothed the dark tendrils of her hair away from the shaven part where her arrow was tattooed.

She smacked his forearm half heartedly, "Don't talk to me like I don't know." She slurred, half drunk due to the concoction of white willow bark and boswellia, two strong pain killers, that the midwives had given her. "He doesn't like it and neither do I."

"You don't know that the child is a boy." Gyatso rebutted, "It could be a girl. I think I'd like it to be a girl."

"That'll be next time then, because this one, I tell you, is a boy." She hammered, huddling back into the birthing position preparing to push once again. He uttered a brief laugh, but fear and anxiety quickly over took the humor in what Meili had intended to say. Gyatso still sat in shock. Her words echoing in the back of his mind like iron beating on metal. _Next time. _Gyatso did not think he could do this again. Not with his already increasing age, and Meili's "over the hill" mark. They were much too old to begin raising one child as opposed to another.

"Next time?" He repeated, though his words fell upon deaf ears. Meili's ear curdling, heart wrenching, pain filled scream filled air as the next contraction seized her, ripping through her body. Now was not the time to be second guessing her words, but to be comforting her and encouraging her with his words.

"You're doing wonderful, Meili. You're almost there." Gyatso breathed out as she fell back against him.

"It's been eighteen hours, Gyatso... I'm so tired." She whispered bringing a cloth to her face to dry it. "I don't see it ending soon either. I can barely feel him coming down... I don't think I can do this anymore." Tears leaked from her eyes as a grunt of frustration escaped her normally quiet lips, capturing the attention of the two midwives in the room, who now bustled around in a frantic fashion in order to keep Meili alive and the baby healthy.

Gyatso positioned himself so he was staring exactly into her beautiful teary orbs. He couldn't bare seeing Meili so vulnerable. It was a strange color on her, one Gyatso didn't care for. It was not the Meili he knew and loved, for she was usually a strong willed individual. "You shouldn't speak that way, Meili. It isn't healthy." At this point, Gyatso was fighting back tears of his own.

"Why?! Because it's true!" While Meili was usually a calm individual who rarely blew her temper, she did have one, and when it showed everyone knew. "Gyatso, you and I both know that my body is too old. I'm too old, and so are you." She whispered through her tears, " I'm not as strong as I used to be."

He was becoming frustrated. It wasn't the fact that Meili of course had a temper, or the fact that she was extremely whiny. What bothered Gyatso the most was knowing that what his wife spoke of was one hundred percent true. Never the less, he couldn't allow her to wallow in her misery. For one, it was against Nomadic Code and two, he couldn't allow her to give up. He would fight for her, whether she was willing or not.

"You're right. It wasn't the most opportune time to have a baby, was it? You and I are both in no shape to be raising a child." He reached out to re-smooth the tendrils of her thick hair from her forehead. "We can be resentful of our age, or we can be grateful for having attained it." He smiled, "Not many people have the opportunity to fall in love and have a child with that person."

"I know, Gyatso. And I don't regret doing this with you, I really don't. It's just that..."

"You're tired and sore and in unbelievable pain. I understand, Meili, I really do. However, if you believe you are defeated, you'll believe it long enough, and it is likely to become a lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Gyatso fought to suppress a chuckle when she rolled her eyes at him. She could be such a child at times, but she brought out the best of him, and for that he was lucky. "I know you'll get through this. And it's not like you'll be alone. I'm here with you. We'll do this together, Meili. Just like it's always been."

Her strength and energy seem to improve after Gyatso's "pep talk". And after a calming glass of jasmine tea with a boost of ginseng, Meili was fired up again and gave all her might into bringing she and Gyatso's child into the world. Though she was right, and the end was not in sight, not for nine more excruciating hours, when the head midwife ordered Meili to give one final push, she began to cry tears of joy as she heard her son squeal and gasp for air.

Sister Wan, the head midwife, placed the gurgling baby boy into his waiting mother's arms. At first glance of his mother's tender expression, he immediately transformed into a peaceful demeanor, while his gray eyes locked onto hers.

"He's beautiful." Meili whispered as she kissed the baby's forehead, "Aang is beautiful." She smiled turning to Gyatso to gage his reaction. He was smiling as well, a few tears lining his eyes in the corners.

"Yes it is."

Gyatso held his new born son as the midwives moved to deliver the placenta and clean Meili up, he watched in awe as his wife finished what they had started, alone.

Aang was a beautiful child. He was sized proportionally with slender arms and legs, which would allow him to be more agile as he got older and progressed with his bending. His fingers and toes were nimble and sleek, an Air Nomad trait that was harbored throughout the years. His stormy gray eyes he inherited from his mother, along with his thick dark brown tuffs of hair that conformed in all directions a top of his head. His skin was pail like Gyatso's and soft like his mothers. In all, he looked like a good mix of them both, but his spirit a lone Gyatso knew was Meili's.

There was something eerily familiar in Aang's eyes. The instant connection father and son seemed to share bewildered Gyatso. Aang had not taken his gaze off of his father for a moment. He stared at him, drinking in his appearance and trying to memorize his form. The meeting seemed all too familiar to Gyatso. He couldn't quite tell what it was, but he swore that the way Aang looked at him seemed as if he were trying to recall a face from another life time.

"I think he's taken a liking to you all ready." Meili smirked tiredly, "And here you were worried of becoming a father. Look at you, you're a natural."

"Instincts I guess." He attempted to place the child in his mother's arms, but once he had moved to do so, Aang began to wail an ear piercing scream, almost comparable to the ones Meili was relinquishing only a mere twenty minutes earlier.

"I guess you've bonded with him all ready." Her finger grazed her son's cheek. "That's something more than you ever got a chance to do with your father, Gyatso. I'm thrilled you've decided to do this."

Gyatso reached down to kiss her forehead, "I wouldn't imagine to do this any other way."

As the hours spilled over and nightfall fell yet again, Meili and Gyatso finally were able to put their son to sleep. He was a wild, yet curious little thing. He had not truly fallen asleep since his birth, an aggravating trait for two very exhausted parents.

Gyatso, himself was about to settle down into the smooth cotton blankets along with his wife when an unexpected knock came from the other side of their door. He immediately knew the situation was important. Gyatso had given strict orders to the council to not disturb him that day unless it was an emergency. It was for that notion, that he made his way hastily to the door. On the opposite side was his lifelong friend, Monk Itashi, who recently became guardian to little Ani, of two years of age after his parents passed away a few months prior.

"I know it's late." Itashi scrambled as he made his way inside, "I know you've had a long day, but something horrible happened and I thought you should know sooner rather than later."

"My brother, what on Earth could be so horrible that it has shaken you to the core?" Gyatso questioned as he and Itashi took a seat at the table.

"It's Avatar Roku... there-there was a volcanic eruption on the island yesterday evening... and he went to battle the volcano and..."

"He was hurt during the battle?" Gyatso laughed half heartedly, "That doesn't surprise me. Roku has always been one for getting into difficult and tricky situations and not being able to find a way out of them."

"No, Gyatso... no, no... it gets much worse." Itashi swallowed and tried to remain composed, "The Firelord saw the ensuing battle from his palace in the Fire Nation, and well... he went to help, but when Roku fell... Sozin left him to die." Itashi broke, forgetting that he should not be allowing his emotions to come out in such a vibrant way.

Gyatso sat speechless, his eyes skimming over the letter Itashi had delivered from Ta Min's hand which confirmed his tale to be true. Tear stains covered the note, and Gyatso knew they were not only from him, but from Roku's wife, and Itashi as well. His lifelong friend since he was seven years old had passed away at the hand of the Firelord.

Gyatso wasn't at all surprised, he had expected something like this to happen for a long while. After all, he and Roku had recently shared a discussion about how demented Sozin had become over the course of his reign in the Fire Nation. A new regime was unfolding before the world, and Roku knew before long something drastic would happen, but he did not know it would happen to him.

Itashi soon left with his condolences and Gyatso was left at the table alone to grieve for his beloved friend. He sat there for a couple of hours before Meili awoke to care for Aang, then came to his aid. She too was taken aback by the news, but not at all truly astonished, for many of the same reasons.

"Life moves in a circle... we were born to die...and you know Roku... he wasn't afraid to die for his cause, Gyatso." Meili whispered, the table turning on the previous events earlier; she was now comforting him.

"It's just the manner in which he died. How can Sozin concede so much hate into the most honorable man in the world? And then to just watch him die? It's unfathomable!" Gyatso whispered loudly, careful not to wake their newborn son.

"We've known for a long time that the Fire Nation has different philosophies than we do. They treat executions as entertainment and animals as a mere source of food and clothing. They don't respect life like we do, Gyatso. Their customs are different than ours." Meili informed as she placed two cups of tea on the table.

"The man I looked up to and respected the most is now gone. He tutored me in the ways of the world, more so than any instructors here did. He taught me how to live. He was essentially a brother to me and now he's gone." He lamented.

Meili crooked a grin as an amusing thought occurred to her, "Wouldn't it be funny if he found you again?" Meili suggested in mocking tone, "The next Avatar is destined to be an Air Nomad, remember? You might not lose him after all."

Gyatso looked up from the table then, remembering the first moment he had shared with Aang earlier. It was strange how he and the child seemed to connect so well. Indifferent as to how the child stared at him as if he were trying to remember a face from another life time. Was it normal for a father and son to become attached so rapidly? Or could it be that Meili's casual assumption might not have all been so farfetched. Perhaps the next Avatar really just was within arm's reach.

* * *

_Long chapter, huh? Yeah... sorry about that. Most of them won't be that long. The good news about this story, is that unlike most of my fics that I have miserably and shamefully not finished, this one is already complete, with the exception of some tweaking. _

_This fan fiction will be about twenty two chapters long... or that's the plan at least. I am flexible. If you have an idea or something you'd like to see, message me and I'll see what I can do. _

_My plan is to publish one chapter every Saturday. Depending on how you guys respond may change how often I post. For now though, every Saturday. _

_I have some credit from this story to give. Some of the quotes Gyatso says are actually quotes from some famous people. Some of them have been altered just a bit to fit the context of the story, but most are completely the same._

_"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."_

_-Ralph Waldo Emerson_

_"Believe you are defeated, believe it long enough, and it is likely to become a fact."_

_-Norman Vincent Peale_

_"We can be resentful of our age, or we can be grateful for having attained it." William Arthur Ward  
_

_Please review guys! I need the love and criticism! :)_


	2. Chapter 2: Intuition

**Left Behind Memories**

**Chapter 2: Intuition**

**I DO NOT OWN ATLA :)**

_**Summary: Meili is plagued by a reoccuring dream of the world being thrown out of balance. Through the mayhem, a young hero emerges to be the world's savior. **_

_Water, Earth, Fire, Air... Monk Itashi once told me of he and Gyatso's crazy excursions around the globe with Avatar Roku. The Fire Nation Avatar whom was once best friends with Firelord Sozin. But everything changed when Firelord Sozin attempted to spread war and colonize the other nations. Only the Avatar stood in his way, yet not for long, for he would no longer be a problem to Firelord Sozin as he would die battling a volcano. The world was devastated by the death of their beloved Avatar. But as they mourned, they casted their sorrow away, and began their search for the next Avatar. _

* * *

There was nothing around her. Nothing but air and sky. The sun shone down on her, sheltering her in its warm embrace and never letting go. She was flying, floating really. Beneath her a cloud supported her as she relaxed and floated across the sky.

She closed her eyes.

The cloud came to a halt after a few minutes, Meili immediately sat up and took in her surroundings. A gasp escaped her lips, taking all air from her lungs along with it. In its place, anxiety filled like river water overflowing into an ocean. She was hovering above her home, or she assumed as much. A massive circular blue sphere floated beneath her, spinning as it stood there. One by one, brown splotches of land overlapped some of the blue until finally all of the brown stopped and only blue remained.

The area around her was cold and dark, with the exceptions of bright glowing orbs that reminded her of the stars at night. Except, these stars were in mass numbers and were in different colors than the bright whites and yellows that appeared at the air temples at night. Blue, green, red, orange all filled the darkened sky where color did not. They seemed to sworm certain areas, and leave others blank, like an outcast, a pariah.

The lights began to dance. Each one swirling, moving, dipping, and plunging. With them, they drug their tail, and did not stop their wistful dance until they collided into another. They caused an explosion. Vibrant colors splitting off into direction after direction until almost fading completely. The only remnants the tails of what the stars had drugged with them.

One by one the tails lit up in a peculiar pattern, one that Meili recognized all too well. The first set of tails to light up was the set of orange. They arranged themselves into the Air Nation symbol of spiraling air currents. They flashed and swirled, spun until they stood positioned over the hovering blue and brown sphere. The land on the sphere lit up as well. A bright orange in four separate places following the cardinal directions; north, south, east, then west. Then, like a tornado wreaking havoc upon a village, it disappeared.

The second light to appear was blue. All the tails arranged themselves into a circular pattern, with swirls similar to the Air Nomads, but waves at the very bottom. It too swirled and maneuvered its way over to where the air symbol once had stood. And it too lit up the land a bright blue at both north and south ends of the sphere. The light vanished.

Her vision shifted again to the third set of lights. This one was green and arranged itself into a trapezoid manner, with an air nation symbol stashed in the middle with six bend lines coming up from the center. It too took place next to the other lights over the sphere, and illuminated a vast piece of land the bright green along with many small pieces of land along with it. It too disappeared.

Finally, the last cluster of lights remained. They were red and shaped themselves into many coiling serpents, forming the shape of fire. It floated above the sphere once again, and transfigured into the land to light up only a small area to the west of the sphere. It was significantly smaller than the other lands. However, instead of disappearing like the others, the red light remained, and slowly one by one each light reappeared to form the four nations of the world.

Something drastic was about to happen, and Meili could feel it in her bones. Her anxiety welled deeper into her sides, and her mind pegged her relentlessly of upcoming danger, yet she remained.

Slowly, the red light on the globe began to move, ascending on the orange first until it was expunged completely. The air nation symbol disappeared as well. The red light progressed and reached the blue pieces of land on the sphere. The red light progressed only in the south, but not in the north. Half of the water tribe symbol vanished. Finally, the red light reached the green. In different sections starting with the exterior, the green light was overtaken by the red until all that was left were small patches of island and one big patch in the center. Eventually, however, after several seconds, the red light suddenly maneuvered over that too, and like all the other starry lights, the green one vanished also.

From the corner of Meili's eye, a glowing object approached at high speeds, faster than a flying bison, faster than an airbender; faster than anything seen my human kind. It was hot and glowed a bright yellow, white, and orange. It zoomed, leaving a crying scream of smoke behind it, before entering the sphere, and taking Meili with it.

Upon re-entering the sphere, Meili watched as the sky turned a putrid reddish purple, and the light streaked the sky. Beneath her, Meili observed as the water that was once pure, and only hosted under sea life, was now alive with iron engines, leaving their carbon footprint in the sky as they went.

Meili herself was traveling at high speeds as she followed the comet to their destination. They sped forward and ascended up the side of a mountain range, only to reach the top which hosted a temple that was protected within the uppermost atmosphere of the planet.

It was exactly how she had left it, with monks and sisters, children and young masters, bison and lemurs as far as the eye could see, all living together in harmony. For a moment, Meili thought she was back in reality.

The cloud that served as her guide carried her to the ground, but she felt no desire to wander off. Instead, it simply drove her to her next destination. Her home. Meili smiled with content as she flew into the open window. Not a thing was out of place, their home was just as simple as ever. The sound of many foot prints was heard, and she quickly scooted out of the way in order to see who it was. Two boys ran into the room, both giggling and with fruit pie stains on their faces.

"This can't be..." She wondered softly as the two boys walked into the kitchen.

* * *

"We're gonna be in so much trouble." The older boy stated, not that he appeared to mind. He seemed as equally as liberated as the other younger boy.

"Yeah, probably. Although, Itashi does have a good sense of humor... and it's not like we didn't have permission. After all, Gyatso was the one that suggested the idea to us." The younger of the two said, wiping his face clean of the apple-melon residue.

"I gave you permission." I voice came from the door, "Yes, I did. But I did not tell you to launch fruit pies at me for target practice." Gyatso emerged from the opposite corner of the room, drenched from head to toe in the sticky remains of the fruit pies.

Meili had to fight herself from laughing at the fiasco, and crying at the prospect. It was a trip down memory lane for her, as she and Gyatso had used fruit pies for target practice many times. Knowing he had passed that onto Aang really touched her heart.

"Itashi wants to see you, Ani. I suggest you get cleaned up and go." Gyatso informed as Ani obediently grabbed a towel wiped himself clean and then bid himself farewell. It warmed Meili's heart that Aang and Ani had become such good friends, even if they did get into trouble together.

Aang scratched his head, "Is he in trouble?"

Gyatso laughed and grabbed the rag Ani left behind and wiped Aang's face clean, "No. I do believe Itashi just wants to get even."

* * *

The scene transfigured again. This time Aang appeared to be older and a master with blue arrow tattoos. He was playing with some of his friends in the court yard. That was until the monk council asked to speak to Aang, and changed his life forever. Though Meili didn't see the exact conversation the monks had shared with Aang, she knew in her heart it had changed him.

Images of conversations flashed around her. Each one a trial Aang had to face. Meili saw her son separated from his friends, forced to only study and practice his airbending. She saw a little boy grow up all too quickly. What Meili saw though was not the Aang she knew. This Aang was depressed, he was alone, with no one to accept him as he was. He was abandoned. More importantly, Meili saw a boy that was thrown into responsibility. One that he hadn't asked for and one that he had not wanted to accept.

The scene transformed again and this time Meili was in the council chamber where Gyatso and Monk Issun were standing before the council, both arguing over her son.

"Aang needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal boy." Gyatso pressed, concern for Aang's well being evident across his features.

Monk Issun scoffed, "Humph! You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny."

The Abbott cleared his throat before he began, "Gyatso, I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgment."

"All I want is what is best for him." Gyatso replied honestly. Meili knew he was losing the argument.

"But what we need is what's best for the world." The Abbott spoke, he looked down in order to meditate for a brief moment, then raised his head in order to begin speaking once again, "You and Aang must be separated. The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training."

The hurt was evident amongst Gyatso's features, but he did not argue the matter. Aang's title had been out of his hands for quite some time now, and he had pressed the limits as far as he possibly could. He had expected this day to come. Meili on the other hand had not.

"Impossible..." She whispered tears lining her eyes, "Pasang would never do that."

* * *

Days shifted now, outside a storm grew. Lightning cracked and popped at the thunders command, and rain drenched the earth and all that inhabited it.

She sat afloat in Aang's bedroom. The boy was flopped down on his bed, his head in his arms as he sat crying about the prospect of being sent away. He stopped suddenly, however, and stood. He grabbed a scroll and dipped a brush in ink and hastily wrote a note. Then, quicker than anything, he packed a bag and grabbed his glider, and disappeared out the window.

"Oh spirits no." Meili moaned, and once again she took flight into the skies. The storm was still raging, but now she and her son were atop of his own bison.

"Come on Appa! Faster!" Aang cried as a bolt of lightning whipped overhead. Meili wanted so badly to grab him and take him somewhere safe, but she could not. Even if she wanted to, her legs would not correspond to her thoughts. This was completely out of her control.

All of a sudden, a tidal wave came out of nowhere and swept them all down and into the icy water below them. Meili thought they were done for, that was until Aang's tattoos and eyes began to glow, and he waterbended a wall of ice around them.

* * *

Everything disappeared. Then slowly, the comet began to rise off in the distance and soar overhead, as did she. The sky returned to be its putrid red, and the air returned with its carbon footprint. They flew to the temple once again. This time, however, it was not a harmonious scene. The temple was on fire. It was burning. Thousands of Fire Nation soldiers infiltrated the temple, killing any airbender they spotted along the way. The ground left soaked with the blood of her people.

The scene didn't last long, and soon Meili was flying towards the Southern Water Tribe. There, Fire Nation raiders were kidnapping and killing waterbending novices and masters. Anyone who proved to be a threat was slain. They took all but one, but in the end, even she was captured.

She soon flew over the Earth Kingdom where many small villages had been turned into Fire Nation colonies, their factories misused, and their people enslaved. Only two cities stood, Omashu and Ba Sing Se, and even then Meili had the notion to believe that even they wouldn't last much longer.

Everything stopped. The comet left, the nations disappeared. For a few short minutes, all that was left was silence. But then, time sped forward once again. The sun and the moon passed over one another in a repetitive, timeless dance. The only sound that was heard was a girl's voice.

_My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.  
_

_Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished..._

Meili could see the world being torn apart by the Fire Nation as time raced forward. Bender after bender slain, town after town vanquished, everything fell.

_A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.  
_

_Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world..._

Images flashed before her eyes. An iceberg being cracked open and two teenagers freed the Avatar from the icy prison. Aang being dragged away in chains by the Fire Nation prince. Aang discovering the death of his people. Aang defeating the Fire Nation in the North Pole. Aang learning water, earth, and firebending. Aang being killed. So many images filled Meili's world. A million voices filled her ears, all relaying the events. A top of them all was Roku's, one she knew all too well.

_Aang, you must defeat the Firelord, before the comet arrives._

Meili took one final flight across the globe. Only to see the vast destruction that the Fire Nation had done. She saw Omashu covered in factories, Fire Nation troops infiltrate the impenetrable city of Ba Sing Se. She saw the Fire Nation take over the world.

_The Earth Kingdom has fallen. _

She saw her son standing in the presence of great and powerful spirits of the earth and sky, and of water and fire. She saw them form a circle around him, each of them with one of the previous Avatars; Yangchen with a bison, Kuruk with the moon and ocean, Kyoshi with badger moles, and Roku with dragons. She saw them form a circle around him, before they stopped, their tattoos glowing, and bowed deeply in respect.

The war between good and evil seemed to impede. Nothing took place. No nations fell. No people died. Everything stood at peace. Everything was good. Until finally, the cloud that Meili had been riding on crinkled and dissipated, and Meili fell as well. She plundered deep into the darkness, the echoing of the girl's voice the last thing she heard.

_But I believe Aang can save the world. _

* * *

S_o again long chapter. Sorry about that guys. I don't how these things keep getting so long. I guess I get so caught up in the story that may fingers just won't stop typing. What do you guys think? Do you like long or short chapters better? What'd you think of this chapter? Intense right? Why do you guys think Meili is having these weird dreams? Who do you think is sending them to her? Guess what? You'll find out in the next chapter. _

_Review guys! It means so much! :) You are all awesome! _


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